Art and Spirituality
Can Art Nourish the Soul?
“Art is a form of nourishment (of consciousness, the spirit),” 31-year-old Susan Sontag, the American writer and philosopher, wrote in her diary in 1964.
in 1910, Russian painter and art theorist, Wassily Kandinsky published “Concerning the Spiritual in Art”. He explores the deep motives for making art as a “spiritual impulse” and the desire by the audience to admire art for the same reasons. Reacting to the new consumerism after the industrial revolution, he speaks about art as a spiritual antidote.
Even before Kandinsky, Hilma Af Klint (female Swedish artist who went largely unrecognized until much later) produced a body of nonobjective work: The Paintings for the Temple. Produced between 1906 and 1915, the paintings were inspired partially by her spiritualist practice as a medium and reflect her attempt to articulate mystical views of reality.
Art as a Spiritual Practice
From a Psychology today article written by Larry Culliford in 2017 he says” The foremost reason that artists create, and the rest of us value their art, is because art forms a priceless living bridge between the everyday psychology of our minds and the universal spirit of humanity.”
There are so many moments while standing in front of art of immense power, that I feel the elevation of the spirit. Rothko’s paintings are just one example for me. So are Rembrandts. It is an indescribable feeling but it nevertheless feels as though it is a unifying me with the rest of humanity and THAT to me is a spiritual experience.
Art and Meditation
Art comes about in a mysterious way. That is why, in initiating my students into “the art process” I often start with a meditation. That allows the chatter to quieten down and gives us the opportunity and invitation to access a deeper well within us. In a previous BLOG on “Can Meditation Make you Better Artist” I explore the subject further. ”I shut my eyes in order to see” said Paul Gauguin
A calligraphy teacher slowly and deliberately rubs an ink stone in front of his students in order to prepare sumi ink as though in meditation. Monks chant for hours before making mandala.
BUDDHIST MONKS AT THE HAMMER MUSEUM IN LOS ANGELES , 2014
Do you need to be an artist to create art?
If we follow the reasoning above, it follows that ANYONE can be creative and make art given the right stimulation and circumstance. That is why The Art Process Method is so successful. It encourages and exercises that creative muscle, taking the self criticism out of the picture (a sure way to deaden creativity!) By incorporating meditation and self inquiry into the creative process, it opens the doorways to your unique vision and self expression!
